Sporting Invention

This case featuring rotating displays complements the Lemelson Hall of Invention exhibit nearby on the first floor and its case on the third floor.

In this showcase, items from drawings and prototypes to final products, as well as little-known stories motivating the inventors, trace the development of sports inventions and highlight aspects of universal design in sports technology development. Objects include the skis and tennis rackets inventedby Howard Head and an accessible snowboard for the disabled developed by student inventors at Hampshire College in Amherst, Massachusetts. The inventors' sketches and models on view provide an appreciation for how inventors transform the way Americans play.